Lean on Me
by S. S. Shadow
Summary: After suffering a small injury, Kiyone is brought to the Masaki home to recover. When circumstances leave her in Tenchi's care, will these two be able to remain just friends, or will it evolve into something more?


_**Chapter 1**_

**Disclaimer:** The following work is strictly fictional. I am in no way, shape, or form, profiting from this story. Pioneer copyrights Tenchi Muyo and its characters. So without further delay, on with the story.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

**(SC)** -scene change-

"Mihoshi keep moving, if we stop now it'll be even harder to finish."

"But Kiyone, it's so heavy, can't we rest, just for a minute?"

"We're almost there, it's just another half flight of stairs." Having finally saved enough to replace their old threadbare couch, Kiyone dragged her partner to town in order to help her pick out a new one. After four hours of searching, and her partner test sleeping three of them, much to Kiyone's annoyance, the pair had finally decided on one that was semi-plush and tan in color. Arranging for it to be delivered, the two of them were now attempting to carry it up the stairs to their apartment door, but since no one told them it weighed half a ton, it was taking a bit longer then expected.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs, Kiyone is trying to open the door while Mihoshi is holding onto her end of the couch from a few steps below. When a soft mewing below catches the blonde's ear, she looks down to see a stray kitten with dark ginger fur staring up at them, emerald eyes filled with curiosity. The blonde detective squealed with delight before rushing down the stairs towards the now startled tabby, unfortunately doing so left her partner suddenly struggling to hold onto the entire couch by herself.

"Mihoshi get back here, Mihoshi!" Trying in vain to hold on as best she could, Kiyone gasped before pitching forward as the weight of the couch pulled her down the stairs to the next landing before coming to a stop.

"Kiyone?" Staring up from her viewpoint on the ground, Mihoshi saw the groaning form of her partner sprawled haphazardly across the runaway couch as she flipped over the armrest when it stopped against the guardrail. "Kiyone!" Forgetting about the cat, Mihoshi hurried up the stairs to her fallen friend. Looking lost about what to do, the seemingly endless fog appeared to clear long enough for the usually clueless officer to think straight. "I know, I'll call Tenchi, he'll know what to do." Sparing a worried glance at her teal haired partner, Mihoshi rushed back to their room to call for help.

**(SC)**

"Hmm, well it's not as bad as it could have been." Mihoshi and Tenchi were currently standing off to the side, observing Washu as she swept a handheld light scanner over Kiyone from head to toe as she lay on an examination bed. Shortly after receiving the call from Mihoshi, Tenchi and Washu arrived at her side, using a short-range gateway generator that the diminutive redheaded genius had created the previous year. Creating a temporal doorway between two sets of pre-configured coordinates, Tenchi and Washu traveled directly from Washu's lab to the living room of Mihoshi and Kiyone's apartment.

After a quick analysis and a few commands entered on her holo-top, Washu materialized a stretcher beneath the fallen officer and gently raised her off the couch. Following close behind, the trio trailed the floating stretcher back through the portal and into the lab for treatment.

"How bad is it Washu," Tenchi asked with concern.

"There seems to be some light bruising around her waist and hips, but that'll be fine with a little rest. I'm more concerned with the muscle strain I'm seeing in her lower back. From what Mihoshi told me about this morning's accident, I believe that Kiyone might have thrown out her back. If that's the case, which at this point I'm pretty sure is, she'll need to be off her feet for a while. I don't want her walking anymore then necessary, at least until she adequately recovers, no strenuous activities, and she'll need someone to be around to care for her in the meantime," Washu professionally stated.

"Can she still walk," Mihoshi asked nervously. Washu nodded, much to the relief of both Mihoshi and Tenchi.

"Motor functions won't be a problem, but until she regains strength in her lower back, she'll need to be supported by someone when she walks."

"How long will it take for her to recover," Tenchi inquired.

"Hard to tell, depending on the severity of the strain, it could be anywhere from two weeks to two months, possibly more, though highly unlikely."

"So where should she stay in the meantime?"

"Oh, she can stay at our place," Mihoshi chimed.

"NO," Washu and Tenchi cried in unison. The bubbly blonde cringed slightly at the combined force of their voices. Recovering from a near fatal heart attack at the thought of leaving Kiyone in Mihoshi's care, Washu calmly tried to explain the situation to the confused detective.

"Listen," Washu started. "With the condition she's in right now, Kiyone is going to need someone on hand to look after her 24/7 for a while. Your GP duties alone will keep you away long enough."

"That's right," Tenchi interjected. "You also have your jobs here on Earth." Mihoshi lightly scratched the back of her head at his comment, giggling nervously.

"Actually, we kind of got fired yesterday. Our boss was a little upset because I broke a few plates."

"That seems a little extreme Mihoshi."

"Well, it was the fifth time it happened this week." Tenchi and Washu sweat-dropped at the notion before sighing. Not knowing what else to say, Washu stepped in for the young prince again.

"As you can see Mihoshi, you're going to be busy enough as it is, without having Kiyone to worry about as well." Tenchi nodded his head in agreement. "That's why we're moving her into Tenchi's room for the time being." While Mihoshi took the news in stride, Tenchi seemed ready to comment, but was interrupted by a beeping emitting from Mihoshi's GP watch. Realizing that there was a message for her from headquarters, she politely excused herself before quickly leaving the lab and it's three remaining occupants. Finding his voice after the detective's departure, Tenchi turned to face Washu.

"Why did you say she's staying in my room? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to stay down in the lab here with you?"

"If her health was in danger I'd say yes, but all she needs now is some time to relax and heal. The house is much better for both, and while the rest of the girls are still on Jurai at the emperor's request, it'll also be the quietest, save of course whenever your father or grandfather are around."

"I still can't believe that Ryoko agreed to willingly go somewhere with Ayeka for any length of time, especially Jurai."

"If Ayeka had asked her I'm sure she'd have said no, but when's the last time you've seen her deny Sasami anything?" Tenchi shook his head in amusement at the influence the blue-haired princess seemed to have Ryoko. "So until they return, for the time being you'll be the only one around the house, except for chores and training, and I can monitor her from down here during those times." Tenchi sighed in resignation at her logic.

"Alright Washu, just give me a few minutes to move the spare bed into my room before bringing her up." Washu nodded as he turned and left, before prepping her sleeping patient for transfer.

**(SC)**

An unfamiliar ceiling was the first sight to greet tired blue eyes as Kiyone slowly sat up with a groan. Taking in a visual sweep of the room, she tried to get her bearings. '_Where am I?'_ Tossing off the comforter, she noticed that except for her shoes and socks, she was still dressed. Pivoting her legs to the floor, she tried to stand before a shooting pain in her lower back halted her movement. '_What's wrong with me?'_ Her musing was cut short as the sound of a sliding door caught her attention. She looked to see Tenchi standing in the doorway, returning from practice if the bokken at his side was any indication.

"Hey, you're finally up. I wasn't sure you'd wake up anytime today." Tenchi walked over to the spare bed and leaned the bokken against the headboard. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, especially my back."

"I'm not surprised, if what Mihoshi said is true, it's a wonder you're not in worse shape."

"Well that explains the pain in my back, but why am I in your room?"

"Washu said that until you've healed and regained your strength, you'll need to stay off your feet as much as possible for at least a week, after that we'll take it day by day. As for being in my room, with everyone else gone or occupied at the moment, I'm the only one available to take care of you, unless you'd prefer to stay with Mihoshi?" Tenchi asked lightly.

"Oh no, that's quite all right, this is just fine," Kiyone said rather quickly. Tenchi chuckled at her rapid response. "Where's everyone else?"

"They left a few days ago for Jurai, family matters I guess, nothing important. Grandfather declined because of his shrine responsibilities, and though Misaki and Funaho invited me I declined as well, I have my own duties to attend to, not to mention that the emperor and I are currently civil at best."

Tenchi moved to sit on the second bed opposite of Kiyone. "So for now it's just the two of us, if you need something let me know, and if you want to go somewhere, tell me and I'll help you there okay?" He gave her a small smile that she returned soon after, relaxing into the no longer uncomfortable situation.

'_A few weeks of rest does sound nice, and without Mihoshi to boot, Tenchi is a nice guy and always good company, guess there's no real downside her after all.' _

Kiyone's face grew pensive. '_Uh oh.'_ "Tenchi?"

"Yeah?" he replied brightly.

"I need to use the bathroom."

**_End Chapter 1_**

_Author's Notes:_ Greetings once again fellow readers and writers and hopefully reviewers I hope that you've enjoyed the first chapter of my latest work to grace As an avid supporter of the Tenchi/Kiyone coupling, I decided to write this as sort of a feeler to see what kind of reaction it might draw. I unfortunately haven't made as much progress as I'd have liked to up to this point on the 3rd installment of the five-part 'Rainy Day' saga as I like to call it, so I took some time to write this, 1) cause I thought it a good idea, and 2) that it might help get the juices flowing again.

I still fully intend to finish this story, as well as my remaining stories, but fan support and reviews will play a large part in just how fast I progress the story along. So far I haven't laid the groundwork for the story past this chapter, but it's something I'll work on before typing the next chapter. I know that they aren't the most popular pairing she doesn't even get a part in the OAV but I honestly think that they make the most sensible pairing. The only other two I could see him with are Washu or an older Sasami legal age of course. Everyone else just wouldn't fit right with him personality-wise, Ryoko is too brash, Ayeka is too formal, and Mihoshi… well they're all nice, but Tenchi and Kiyone just seem to be the most compatible. I just hope that there is still a place out there for another Tenchi/Kiyone pairing. In the meantime, feel free to check out any and all of my other stories from anime such as Gundam Wing (Heero/Noin)

Yu-Gi-Oh (Joey/Ishizu) Dragonball Z (Gohan/Videl) and others from Tenchi Muyo (Tenchi/Kiyone – who else?) I will try to update as fast as I can, so in the meantime just keep the faith, and read n' review.

**S. S. Shadow**


End file.
